[Effects of substance P and neurokinin A on pulmonary circulation in the isolated perfused guinea pig lung].

We studied the effect of sensory nerve peptide substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA) in isolated perfused guinea pig lungs. SP and NKA increased pulmonary arterial pressure, capillary pressure, pulmonary venous resistance, and lung weight, but they did not change pulmonary arterial resistance or pulmonary vascular permeability. The effects of SP on pulmonary vascular dynamics were greater than those of NKA. Ozagrel hydrochloride, a thromboxane synthase inhibitor, partially attenuated the effect of SP. This indicates that thromboxane contributes to SP-induced pulmonary vasoreactivity. However, ozagrel hydrochloride did not change the effects of NKA. FK224, an NK-1/NK-2 receptor antagonist, abolished both SP- and NKA-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction. This indicates that SP and NKA acted on the pulmonary vasculature through the NK-1 or NK-2 receptor, or both. Papaverine, a smooth muscle relaxant, abolished the effects of SP. The SP-induced increase in lung weight was caused by a rise in pulmonary hydrostatic pressure, especially that caused by pulmonary venoconstriction.

Sperm-immobilizing antibodies in women undergoing artificial insemination with donor sperm.

Forty-nine female partners of infertile couples undergoing AID (1 to 44 times) were tested for the presence of sperm-immobilizing antibodies in their serum. One hundred fifty-one infertile women undergoing ART treatment other than AID were enrolled as a control group. One of the 49 AID patients and 3 of the 151 women of the control group were positive for sperm-immobilizing antibodies. The sperm-immobilizing antibodies incidence in AID patients did not differ significantly from that in the control group. This suggests that multiple exposures to semen from different donors do not increase the possibility of inducing sperm-immobilizing antibodies in AID patients.

[Mediastinal abscess due to endotracheal intubation].

A 38-year-old woman was brought to hospital in an unconscious condition due to hypoglycemic coma. At 23 years of age she was diagnosed as having insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. She had been treated with insulin but the control of her blood sugar was inadequate. Emergency endotracheal intubation was performed and she began to breathe spontaneously. Two days later, sore throat, swelling of the neck and fever appeared. She was therefore transferred to our hospital. CT showed a continuous abscess with multiple air bubble from the pharynx to the mediastinum. Cervical incision was performed and treatment with ampicillin, cefmetazole, and clyndamicin was started. Culture of the pus revealed alpha-streptococcus. The abscess decreased in size and her blood sugar was controlled by insulin and diet. She was discharged after 11 weeks of hospitalization. At that time CT showed only emphysematous change.

Modulation of progesterone secretion by androgens in porcine granulosa cell cultures.

The influence of testosterone, androstenedione and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the progesterone (P4) production by cultured porcine granulosa cells was studied in the presence or absence of gonadotropins. Porcine granulosa cells from large follicles (6-12 mm in diameter) were incubated for 2 days with 5% CO2 in air with testosterone, androstenedione and DHT (10(-12), 10(-10), 10(-8) and 10(-6) M) in the presence or absence of luteinizing hormone (LH, 10 ng/ml) or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH, 30 ng/ml). P4 and pregnenolone (P5) in conditioned culture media were quantified by their specific RIAs. In the absence of gonadotropins, P4 in media with androgens were not significantly different from controls. In the presence of LH, the addition of testosterone (10(-10), 10(-8) M), androstenedione (10(-8) M) and DHT (10(-8) M) caused a significant 1.3- to 2.3-fold increase in P4 over that caused by LH alone. In contrast, in the presence of FSH, testosterone (10(-12), 10(-10) M), androstenedione (10(-12)-10(-6) M) and DHT (10(-6) M) reduced the levels of P4 by 22% to 41%. The addition of androgens with LH caused a significant increase in P5, while P5 decreased in the presence of FSH. P4/P5 ratios remained unchanged in the presence of both LH and FSH. These data suggest that the P4 production by cultured porcine granulosa cells is modulated in a paracrine or an autocrine fashion by androgens in the presence of gonadotropins, and that androgens may exert their actions partly by altering the activity of cholesterol side chain cleavage enzymes.

[A case of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis with bronchoalveolar lavage performed 4 years before onset].

A 51-year-old man with chief complaints of cough, fever, and dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. Based on a home provocation test, transbronchial lung biopsy specimens, and a serum antibody, we diagnosed summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In 1983 when the patient was 46 years old, thymectomy was performed for thymoma. Prior to surgery, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed. Total cell count and neutrophils had already increased in BALF. Furthermore, the increase in BALF cell neutrophil count was also seen at the time of admission and after the home provocation test. Because an increase of neutrophils in BALF cells was seen not only at onset but before onset, further studies are required to clarify the role of neutrophils and the factors that increase them in hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

The role of inhibin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Human follicular fluids from normal women and from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were collected at various stages of the menstrual cycle, and inhibin and steroid contents were determined by rat anterior pituitary cell monolayer bioassay system and specific RIAs, respectively. Inhibin contents in viable follicles were significantly higher than those in atretic and in cystic follicles. Preovulatory and luteal phase follicles had lower inhibin levels than viable follicles in normal women. A significant inverse correlation was found between inhibin contents and androstenedione to estrogen ratios. The inhibin contents in PCOS follicles were not significantly different from those of viable follicles of normal women at the early follicular phase, but they were significantly higher than in atretic follicles. Since PCOS ovaries often contain more antral follicles than normal ovaries, it could be that this potential source of inhibin may be greater than in normal ovaries. Furthermore, 9 out of 10 follicles in any ovary of normal women are atretic and contribute less inhibin production, whereas PCOS ovaries contain many follicles capable of secreting considerable amounts of inhibin. Therefore, PCOS ovaries totally may secrete more inhibin than normal ovaries. This higher potency of PCOS ovaries to secrete inhibin along with higher serum estrogen levels may be responsible for the disparity between basal LH and FSH levels in PCOS.

[Solubility of metal components into tissue culture medium from dental amalgams (author's transl)].

Solubility of metal components into tissue culture medium, YLH, from various dental amalgams including high copper, conventional and copper amalgam was measured with atomic absorption spectrometry. The results obtained were as follows.: 1. Mercury solubility was found much in all the dental amalgams after one day extraction. This was followed by gradual increase in solubility in the high copper amalgams until after seven days. On the otherhand, initial high solubility was maintained in conventional and copper amalgams through the whole experimental period. 2. Higher solubility of silver and copper was recorded in the high copper amalgams. 3. Zinc was only found in Dispersalloy and copper amalgam. 4. Tin was unable to be measured in all the amalgams examined. It was considered that the present results could shed a light on the mechanism for cytotoxicity yielding of the dental amalgams.